One thing Jaison had the guts to admit was that he didn't like it when she was upset. Her crying uncontrollably in her brother's arms was a sight he badly wanted to erase from his mind. The pang he felt when he heard her sob scared the wits out of him.
She had started to affect him. Strongly!
And that scared him.
Once before he had given that right to someone, the right to be so important to him that no one could ever hurt him more than her. Where did that lead him?
To a point where he longed for death as the only salvation.
But at the moment he kept his insecurities and what ifs aside and focused on her. Solely on her.
They had returned from the airport after Aryan's flight took off. She hadn't spilled a single word since then. When they reached home she even asked to sleep alone for the night.
Unwillingly, he agreed.
If staying alone for sometime would clear her head, he'll give it to her.
He lay sprawled on the bed as his eyes stared at the ceiling above. He hadn't given much notice to the other rooms in the apartment. Now when he had the chance he looked around the guest room.
It felt so.....foreign.
The untouched dressing table, the book shelf, the neat bedsheets. The room was not occupied with much, had more space to it, he should have liked it. But it felt so unwelcoming like every accessory in the room was telling him to leave, like he didn't belong there. The unused and almost new bed was suppose to provide him more comfort but the coldness to it made him agitated.
He looked beside himself.
Empty.
The way the bed used to sink when she layed beside him, the way her warmth crept under his skin in an oh so additive manner, the way he involuntarily used to turn to her resting his palm under his cheek to silently admire her face.
He suddenly missed the feeling.
He didn't know such gestures could mean so much.
Tossing on the bed, changing postures he somehow tried to make his way through the night.
...............
Akira seemed to be better than the night before.
Just like him, she too wasn't able to sleep for a second. But her reasons were different. She simply sat on the bed hugging her knees as she rocked her body. She tried her best to grasp onto the good in the situation. But there was hardly any good in it.
She was thinking about it through her own perspective. She remembered the time when she was in a dilemma and her mother helped her out. She clearly remembered her words.
Whenever you feel like someone did you wrong, just once, just once put yourself in their shoes and think from their point of view. You'll get your answer.
Her brother clearly did nothing wrong but she was having a hard time digesting the fact that he'll be oceans away for who knows how long.
But when she looked at it through his eyes, she understood. This was the only opportunity he had to prove himself. He got it out of his own hardwork, letting it go would be the biggest disrespect to his struggles, tears and yearning to stand on his own feet.
She smiled, proud.
Akira had forced Jaison to leave for office while he tried his best to stay behind. For him, she was acting to be okay. For her, he was treating her like a child. But the woman's stubbornness won.
He had to leave.
His day was horrible. With not even an ounce of sleep, constant thoughts of his wife and tons of work load, he somehow made it through half of the day to finally have his treat.
They currently sat to eat lunch.
"What are you doing?" She asked as she did not hide her judging expressions.
"Cutting the fish." He replied, confused.
"You are going to eat the auspicious bengali fish with a knife and fork?"
"How am I suppose to eat it then?" He looked at her like a clueless child.
"With your hands." She displayed her hands, dramatically.
"No. I'm not eating with my hands." He refused as he picked up the knife, about to cut a slice.
"Don't. Its supposed to be eaten with your hands." She held his hand, stopping him.
"I can eat it however I like." He broke away from her grip.
"Have you ever seen me eating noodles with a spoon?" She raised her eyebrows, provocatively.
"You cannot eat noodles with a spoon. Thats why." He abruptly cut a piece.
She gasped." Wait. If you can't eat it the way its suppose to, don't eat it at all." She snatched the plate." I'll ask Ms.Ara to prepare something for -"
"No!"
He snatched the plate back and kept it infront of himself.
"I'll eat it." He pouted and awkwardly dug into the meal.
She smiled, satisfied. She sat back comfortably with a victorious smiled painted on her lips.
Her smile faltered as she suddenly remembered something. She shifted uncomfortably in the chair as she had no idea of how to start the conversation.
"Ahem, um is the work load increasing?" She slightly bent her shoulders to look at him whose face was downwards.
"Huh. No. Its the same as always." He looked up at her for a brief moment and went back to chew the delicious food in his mouth. Looks like he no longer gave a shit about his hands getting dirty.
"But you look stressed sometimes." She slowly put a bite in her mouth, chewing slowly.
"I do?" He shrugged his shoulders absentmindedly. He wasn't paying much attention to her talks.
"Yeah. Why don't we go out somewhere to have a change of environment?"
He stopped chewing.
Go out? GO OUT. Is she asking to go out on a date? Or a HONEYMOON?
He gulped hardly.
Attention. Jaison exe has stopped working!
"Uh, uhem, where do you want to go?" He asked, his head hung low as he did not have the guts to look at her.
"How about tomorrow's party?"
It took a moment for her words to sink into his mind. Did she say party?
His entire demeanour changed. He slowly looked up to blankly stare at the woman. His eyes narrowed, having a hardened expression in them. The thoughts of how she got to know about the party, who provoked her to come, and how could he let it slip under his nose made his mind whirl.
"How do you know about the party?"
His voice held an accusing tone which made her waver. Was he accusing her? For what exactly? For indulging too much in his life? Was she crossing the line?
Did she even have the right to ask him to attend that party?
"I- I have my ways." She tried to play smart. She wanted to know. She wanted to know how deep that boundary went. She wanted to know the extent of their relationship.
"Akira?" He poked his inner cheek.
"I got an invitation." Well, she wasn't lying about that. Mr.Kim was smart enough to ask her not to mention him. He even gave her an invitation that was specifically for her. Not just for Jaison.
"Who gave it to you?"
"It was delivered." She herself had no idea why she lied.
Jaison looked away.
He had tried his best to prevent all those invitations to reach her. He tore them, brunt them to the ground but never let them reach her. He was doing it to protect her.
He used to attend those events he had nothing better to do. He didn't want to be alone even for a moment because he knew he would have taken a step that would scar a lot of people.
He would be able to forget about his tiresome life for sometime even if that meant surround himself with pretentious, spineless and aristocratic people. The words that were spewed from their mouths were venomous and filled with mock. He never really understood what kind of pleasure they got by putting other people down. A person cannot become high and better by pulling others down.
Mujin would always be there by his side.
He would stick to him the moment they entered the hall.
He had received many invitations since their wedding. But now he had no reason to go there. Furthermore, the people there were not a good company. They couldn't affect him but their words would definitely have an effect on Akira.
A delicate rabbit among atrocious hungry snakes. What would you expect?
"We can go somewhere else. No need to go there." He sighed heavily. The left over food infront of him no longer looked appealing. He had lost his appetite.
"Why can't we go there?" She asked, genuinely curious.
What was stopping him? His family and friend would be there. Doesn't he want to meet them?
"We- we just can't. Okay? Choose someplace else. Any place, countr-"
"I want to go there. And the invitation was for me too. I have the right to answer for myself."
Call me an idiot if you want. But something about this event is compelling me to go there. As if I'll get a lot of answers, answers to questions that I don't even know. I know I'm acting stupid but he will keep on putting that barrier in between us, I don't think I'll ever be able to truly know or understand him.
"Akira there's nothing special about that place. Wh-"
"I want to go. You can stay behind if you want-"
"You.Are.Not.Going.Anywhere.Without..Me." He stared into her soul." Do you understand that?"
She timidly nodded her head.
Does that mean I can't go? Humph! And why the hell does he have to intimidate me like this and why the hell do I nod like a kid everytime?
"Don't make that face. We're going. Okay?"
She is such a baby. A baby I have to protect.
...............
Many people were eagerly waiting for the day to finally arrive. Many of them to taunt others about their own success. Some to see how far the others have come. Some just for show. Some to gossip.
While some to being a storm in the peaceful lives of others.
Mujin stared at his phone screen with a spiteful frown.
Kim Yoona is going to attend the party.
The phone screen displayed.
His grip on the phone tightened as the light from the phone illuminated his gorgeous face.
"Its going to be a hell of a night." He whispered.
Kim Yoona stared at the breathtaking view of the night with a glass of wine in her hand.
She smirked, the wine tasting extra nice as she heard the person through the ear pod in her ear.
"Jaison is attending the event."
"Is she coming?" She tilted her head.
"Yes." Her smirk widened.
Jaison stared at the sleeping beauty beside him, sleeping without any care in the world not knowing the hurricane of emotions that whirled in his mind.
"I don't want you to meet those fucked up people. You are too innocent." He whispered. He was getting restless as the anticipation of what was about to happen grew.
The woman hummed along the rhythm of the song as her hands glided their way across the canvas. Her hands moved with the sole dedication to complete the painting.
Her arms and clothes messed up with the paint, splashes of the colours on her face. When her hands stopped, she stared at the painting with passion, like it was the answer to her devotion.
"I'll finally see you after a year, Jaison."
She smiled, closing her eyes as she leaned onto the painting and rested her forehead on it.
"The wait is over."
..............